(Reuters) – The U.S. biofuel industry has asked the Trump administration for funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation to help it survive a demand slump triggered by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
The funds could be used to offset a portion of the industry’s corn and soy bean purchases, or as direct assistance to companies to help them retain staff, according to the April 1 letter addressed to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
The letter, signed by representatives of the nation’s top biofuel trade groups including the Renewable Fuels Association, said that “collapsing demand” for fuel during the outbreak had idled some 3.5 billion gallons of annualized ethanol output at a quarter of the nation’s production facilities.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
